Mussels Marinara Pasta

Few things to sit back and laugh about.. 

When I first cooked this dish, it was OMG- Epic disaster because I overcooked the mussels leaving it tough and chewy. Somehow 8 min cook time doesn't sound right so I left it in the steamer to happily steam its way to ultimate rockness. 

Secondly, I took alot of photos from different angles but somehow this picture was too hilarious, I had to post it. Notice how the 2 mussels at each end look like "ears" to the pasta and also how widely open they are to resemble " mouths". It almost like saying Come Eat Me NOW! 

Pesto Ravioli infused with truffle oil

Don't you just love the smell of truffles. Truffle Fries!! , Truffle Pasta, Truffle Sauce, Soup with truffle oil... A dash is all you need to bring the food to yet another level. As they can be quite pricey and rare to find at times, I suggest investing in a tiny bottle of oil or truffle salt. A little goes a long way! 

MY truffle crazy friend managed to get me a bottle of this truffle oil at the FHA fair ;) Best ever!! Forget about tv-dinners...It's time to whip up more truffle licking homemade meals. 

The next dish is basically ravioli with a sprinkle of pesto and truffle infused oil. 

If you're wondering where to get truffle products, you can find them at the far end of takashimaya basement beside Harrod, threesixty supermart at Orchard ion, Dean and Deluca at Orchard Central or any speciality store. Culina might have some as well.

Porcini Mushroom Linguine

Cooking has sometimes been my secret "getaway" from my daily baking routine. It's rare that I have more savory than sweet cravings but the thing is I really do enjoy them both alot. 

Anyone who understands me well knows that I can't do without my carbs. Bread, Cereal, Pasta, beans, potatoes etc you name it all. They can really be unhealthy if taken in excess but c'mon we got to eat what we love sometimes don't we :) Anyway the rule of thumb is always to eat in moderation. That way you'll feel less guilty and happier ;) 

Looking at my extreme likes, I realize that most food I opt for all fall under the "brown category". I adore whole grain breads, nuts, oats, chocolates, mushrooms. Mushrooms are one of the staples of every meal and it goes superbly well with one of the easiest dish to whip up when you're in a hurry. 

Got my hands on the porcini mushroom Linguine (dried pasta) at the fair and instantly a caramelized onion and mushroom pasta came to mind ;)

Mushroom Linguine with Caramelized onions and brown/white Button Mushrooms  (For 4)

Ingredients

Pasta ( Amount depends on how many pax you are cooking for) 

5 Brown Button Mushrooms

5 White Button Mushrooms

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup fresh cream/ milk ( I opted for milk for a less fatty alternative to cream)

2 tbsp butter

pepper and salt (to taste)

Oregano/mixed herbs

2 onions

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup cheese

In a large saucepan, boil enough water to cook the pasta in. Add a little salt. When water is boiling, put pasta in. 

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce:

Place 2 tbsp of olive oil in the pan and saute the onions until soft, transparent and caramelized. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 5 min. Swirl in the butter. 

Add the chicken stock, fresh cream/milk and cheese and cook until slightly thicken (gravy like). Add in the herbs and toss in cooked pasta. 

Top pasta with more cheese and pepper and serve hot ;) 

Aglio Olio with juicy Pork Balls

I woke up with skies overcast. Soon after a heavy downpour followed. What a great morning actually to sleep in and laze around in bed but the bf was coming over for lunch. We had this convo the night before. He said let's eat at the hawker near your house... easier. I, on the other hand had a better idea.. to whip up something special as a surprise. I probably did that countless times that it ain''t such a surprise after all. 

Anyway, I was rummaging through the freezer to look for my frozen yogurt for breakfast ( yes, I crave it to the extent that I resorted to putting our normal yogurt in a cup in the freezer so it'd become some sort of frozen dessert the very next day) when I saw minced pork and a packet of mixed veg. Ah hah. Makes me think of juicy meatballs with a thick teriyaki glaze. My only recollection of meatballs were those from Ikea accompanied by a measly slab of creamy sauce.. and everytime I would feel like punching the guy who said " 30c extra for more sauce". 

Making these porkballs were more of mixing everything up and trial and error. I had no clue what to put inside so I just went along with my feelings. Minced pork, mixed veg and then I saw prawns so I decided to food process the prawns along with the pork. Added in some teriyaki sauce as marinade.. Open the fridge to search for more stuff I could add to the amazing balls and hmm thought I'll add some sesame oil as well. and hmm how about some onions too,,... and oh yes oh yes breadcrumbs and an egg :)) Concocting stuff and playing around with my food is what describes me best. 

Anyway, ultimately they turned out pretty well I must say. I was satisfied with the outcome and I'm gonna bookmark this in my recipe book. 

PORK MEAT BALLS

Ingredients:

-minced pork ( all I could find. But using minced  beef should taste nicer) 

- about 6-7 prawns deveined

-1 onion

-mixed veg ( I used carrots and peas)

-2-3 tbsp of teriyaki sauce ( or even more)

-2 tbsp sesame oil

-sugar

-salt (to taste)

-pepper

- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

-1 egg

-cornstarch

Blend prawns, minced pork, onion in a food processor to form a paste. Add teriyaki sauce, sugar, salt , pepper, sesame oil and blend 

Add pepper, breadcrumbs and cornstarch and mix well. Leave to marinade for awhile. Lightly beat an egg.

Heat some oil in a frying pan. Roll meatballs into balls and dip into egg and pan fry till brown. 

For the glaze ontop:

- teriyaki sauce

-cornstach dissolved in a little water

Heat teriyaki sauce. Add cornstarch mixture and heat until sauce thickens. Pour over meatballs =]]] and ENJOY. 

We had some Aglio Olio to go along with the porkballs as well. Simple, cheap, easy to do yet satisfying. Many a times I prefer plain pasta cooked with olive oil to those heavy cream laden ones. This is a simple dish to whip up at home. All it takes is for the pasta to be cooked al dente and you have it going your way. 

Ingredients

-speghetti

-dried chilli 

-garlic slices

-salt/pepper ( to taste)

- olive oil

Boil a pot of water in a saucepan. Add salt. When water boils, add pasta and cook till al dente. 

In the meantime, fry garlic slices, chilli in olive oil till garlic slightly browns. Set aside. Toss pasta into oil when cooked. Add pepper and salt and season till desired. 

Tacos

It's taco day!! Taco brings me many months back where I was still on my so awesome exchange. I still can't believe it's over. Anyway, besides burgers and fries which I got so sick off after my first few weeks, I got to indulge in Mexican food.. The difference was I never got bored of it. Tacos, tortillas,chilli, nachos, chipotle, quesadillas, corn, cheese, salsa, beans omg beansssss.. Being such a huge fan of beans (red bean, green bean), I thought I wouldn't be able to survive those 5 months but boy was I wrong. It was a land of beans. Kidney beans, chickpeas, black beans, chill. Don't see much Mexican restaurants here in Singapore which is pretty saddening but anyway going to Holland V Cha Cha Cha for a meal now and then isn't sucha bad idea after all.

Soo on the menu today we have: 

My all time favourite appetizer- deep fried mushrooms

I remember I was doing alot of things at once while frying the mushrooms that I forgot to lower the heat and flip it and honestly, it was a SERIOUS disaster. The first batch of mushrooms turned out like a huge blob of charcoal. Thank goodness for helpers that came to assist at the right time. I tried deep frying portobello and white button mushrooms but as much as I really like the taste of portobello, they just didn't work. The latter was much juicier. Just the way I like. Juicy on the inside and cripsy on the outside.

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup water

1 egg 

whatever spices you like [ I put oregano, some garlic and herb salt, pepper, cayenne pepper ] 

breadcrumbs 

Mix the top four ingredients together. Dip mushrooms in it to coat and roll them in a generous amount of breadcrumbs and deep fry to see magic.  

Filling for Tacos:


Anything yummy goes with tacos. Can be beef, chicken, fish.. It's really up to your own discretion :).


About 350g lean mince beef
1 can black beans, drained
1 large red onion chopped finely
about 1 cup water
garlic
taco seasoning


The taco shells were store bought. I used the Old El Paso brand. Works out to be particularly crispy when baked in the oven. Nice! Plus it comes with taco seasoning and salsa sauce.

Tacos with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa sauce ;)) and ooh we made this tangy grapefruit and lychee ice blended drink to go with it but didn't manage to get a shot of it.

Tacos are not at all filling so we had 2 rounds of pasta to go alongside the tacos. Made a creamy based pasta as well as a pesto based one. Here are 2 ingredients I look for whenever I order pasta at a restaurant: Zucchini and eggplant! HAHAA. told you I was simple ;) 

This pesto based linguine is rather simple to do. Infact, pasta is the easiest to whip up when in a hurry. 

Linguine ( or you can use other kinds of pasta as well) 

parmesan cheese

sundried tomatoes ( totally love them as well) 

zucchini

eggplant

olive oil

salt and pepper ( to taste) 

I know you must be wondering what happened to the pine nuts?? I didn't add them in as I had none on hand but they sure go well with pesto based pasta. Arhh at least that's why I eat them for. 

Many of them preferred this creamy based one. I'm not a sucker for creamy pasta but I must say this is pretty darn good.. considering the massive amount of cheese I added to it out of experiment. hahaa

This serves 6-8 people:

Linguine ( or other)

18 raw prawns, deshelled and de-veined

2 tbsp butter

olive oil

Portobello/whitebutton mushrooms ( as much as you wish)

Bacon (Fried and cut into small pieces)

Oregano flakes

1 cup cream ( I only had 150ml on hand so I substituted the rest for milk) 

Peppery Jack Cheese ( Well, I added a handful.) 

and there you have it. Homemade Mexican food and pasta ;)) Stay tune for more random cooking and baking. I have alot ( and I mean a whole lot) of backlog. 

Pizza Revelation

Say goodbye to instant noodles and junk food and waste that calorie on better food. Here comes the Good'Ol pasta and pizza revelation. I always feel that having those 2 in one seating is always a pleasure. I admit I wasn't really a big fan of pizza after those years when I started to lose all my baby fats haha.. Maybe psychological thinking played a part. It could be the case. But fact is, those thick crusted pizzas did not blow me away. Less is more and up till today, I still love those skinny pizzas. I'm in lurvee with them. 

Cooking for the family is always a joy. Though yes, getting hard fried on messing up the kitchen is another story. Here comes the birth of vodka and mushroom penne. Sorry I cheated. The Vodka sauce was imported from the states and surprisingly it managed to withstand the long hauled journey from west to east. It came out in one fine piece.. 

Vodka Penne with mushrooms

Ingredients:

- One bottle of Vodka pasta sauce

- Some white button mushrooms and portobello ( Um yums!. It makes sense now that I talked about mushrooms in my previous post) 

- Onions

-Penne

-chilli padi ( optional)

1)  Cook Penne in a pot of boiling water till al dente. Drain and set aside. Best to wash with cold water to stop the cooking process

2) Prepare the awesome sauce- First fry onions in some olive oil till soft. Toss in the mushrooms. Add the sauce

3) Scoop desired amount of sauce onto penne and sprinkle with your fav herb and black pepper.. Oh yes I forgot.. I added in some chilli padi to the sauce for extra OoHmmpp and to rise up the heat level. 

Forgive the ugly presentation and photos. We were ALL tooo hungry. 

Now comes the fun part. Decorating your own pizza! Decorating pizzas are a form of art. It's a time to get creative and creating that pizza you have been dreaming forever. Home made pizzas are great cuz you get to add in the desired ingredients in any amount that pleases you... It sure is satisfying.. TRUST ME! Ok I cheated again. The crust was pre bought from FHA. We had a ton of crust left from that exhibition and something needed to be done to it. 

First up: We had The classic hawaiian pizza- with a ton of ham and pineapples. 

The tough part about making your own pizza is the crust. Which is a major challenge to some cuz you don't want it too tough, too thick etccc but I skipped this whole step here. But next time, it'd better be the real deal. [ After those pre made crusts are finished ]. 

1) Sprinkle some olive oil onto the crust.

2) Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese 

3) Top with ham and pineapples

4) Finish with more cheese ( I basically covered the whole pizza with cheese). The cheesier the better don't cha agree. We mixed the cheese with cheddar cheese and peppery jack cheese ( for that tinge of kick to it)

5) Bake 15 min ( or until crust turns brown n cheese is melted) 260C.  

Second Pizzza of the day: BBQ Chicken and mushrooms ( I can never leave the mushrooms alone) 

-1 skinless chicken breast about 160g

-1/2 cup bbq sauce ( or more if you wish) 

-some red onion, sliced thinly

- olive oil

- mozzarella cheese

1) Season chicken with salt and coat chicken with  3 tbsps of bbq sauce and marinade 30 min. 

2) Heat oil in pan and cook until meat is tender 

3) cut chicken into small cubes and coat with extra 2 tbsp of bbq sauce. Set aside

4) Drizzle dough with olive oil. Spoon some bbq sauce over the dough and spread evenly. 

5) Add some cheese. Add diced chicken, onions, mushrooms. 

6) Sprinkle more cheese

7) Bake 15min at 260C. 

Third pizza: The one and only famous Salami Pizza. 

Steps are the same as the hawaiian pizza.Just that use salami instead of ham and ignore the pineapples and again a generous doze of cheese. For certain dishes like pizzas, you don't stinge on cheese. Ok from the picture, the salami is rather obscure, you know the reason... Ooopss maybe too much cheese? . Nah 

Last but not least.. Shrimp and red pepper pesto courtesy of Nick from Macheesmo  

Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pizza
This is for one 12-15 inch pizza

- 1/2 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halfed
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1/4 medium onion, cut into thin strips
- 1/4 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
- 2 Cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil (I left this off because I didn’t have any. It was fine.)
- 2/3 Cup red pepper pesto

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (Makes about 2 cups)– Clove garlic
- 1 jar (16 ounces) roasted red peppers [ I searched the entire country for roasted red peppers but I couldn't find this damn thing anywhere. Makes me so sad so I just bought my own red peppers and roasted them in the oven. I made sauce outta 2 whole peppers and Gosh it was way too much... One would have been just nice]  
- 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

More detailed steps can be found from his site.

Overall verdict. Salami> Pesto with prawns> hawaiian > bbq chic. I really loved the red pepper prawn one cuz at least it tasted different from the usual. However nothing beats salami. Seriously nothing. It was a fun and memorable experience playing with food. YES I said it.. Playing with food... What my frens know me best for. My itchy hands. Middle of the pizza was a little soggy. Guess I was overly adventurous with the sauce. However the sides of the crust were perfect and crispy to the T.  Now, at least I'm more motivated to make my own pizza crust.Right now I'm craving for pepperoni's triple cheese pizza. THe last time we went there. Holy Molly, we ordered the XXXL and it was enough to fill a cow's stomach. 

Anyway,  tune in for more cheezy business! xoxo